Sierra Sands to reduce size of school board

Following a review for legal purposes, the Sierra Sands Unified School District Board of Education will be reducing its seats by one member. The 2014 election will have three board members will be vying for two seats in November. The election will also be an at-large election, not by area or district.

Following a review for legal purposes, the Sierra Sands Unified School District Board of Education will be reducing its seats by one member. The 2014 election will have three board members will be vying for two seats in November. The election will also be an at-large election, not by area or district.

Board president Bill Farris explained the reasoning for the reduction on Wednesday. The change from six to five board members is the second in a two-step reduction process. The last election in 2012 saw the elimination of one seat, dropping the seats on the board from seven to six.

Farris said that when Sierra Sands unified with neighboring districts in the 1970s, all seven districts were represented, including Rand, Indian Wells Valley and China Lake districts. The Rand district representative was eliminated, for example, due to an imbalance in representation. The board member representing Rand, Judy Dietrichson, will finish out her term and be eligible to run in November as an at-large candidate.

Farris said there had been a change in the laws governing voting districts that required the district examine its own voting areas. He said the school was looking to see if the current voting areas created a disadvantage to minorities. He said the district is so “homogeneous” in its demographic that there were no displaced minorities. The need for voting districts and individual representatives for those districts is not necessary.

There has been no word from board members about stepping down, Farris said, but the election process will take care of that.